Show Hire Invests in New EV System for Outdoor Events

October 1st, 2007

Show Hire has carved a niche market for itself in “greenfield site PA rental,’ where temporary venues are created for large-scale public events; every cable has to be dug underground and every loudspeaker mounted on a removable pole, and the entire site must be returned to a green field after use.

A good example of this is the Burghley Horse Trials, held in the park of historic Burghley House near Stamford, where Show Hire debuted its new EV system. Sponsored by Land Rover, this event is one of the most prestigious of its kind in Europe, attracting a competition field that includes world eventing champion Zara Phillips, and crowds of 120,000 over four days.

Nick Chubb of Show Hire purchased a number of Electro-Voice Zx100T loudspeakers and PA2400T amplifiers from Shuttlesound, after a successful test-drive of the equipment at the Badminton Horse Trials earlier in the year. At Burghley, the new 100V line compact cabinets were mounted on poles around the large arena, where the dressage and showjumping elements of the three-day eventing competition are staged, along with demonstrations, workshops and prize-giving ceremonies.

“Everything we do at Burghley is temporary,“ explains Nick Chubb. “We can’t even concrete a pole into the ground. This is a total greenfield site, and all the cables we use here will have to be taken up at the end of the event.“

The very nature of a greenfield site creates lots of possibilities for error. “We spend a big chunk of our time saving our equipment from other people!“ says Nick. “When it came to choosing loudspeakers for such work, we had to consider how robust they were. These are all-weather conditions; the rain gets into equipment, the winds drive at the speakers. When it’s sunny and hot, we get the opposite problems, but the Zx cabinets have proved themselves to be up to the job.

“With the EV speakers, we’ve got four times more power and much better bass response than we used to have in the past. This is especially important for when the system is handling music in the intervals. Essentially, we’ve got 4x Zx100Ts per side of the arena, which holds 10,000. These act as one zone, and the commentator has a simple zone control and switch relay system which allows him to control his own content, and direct what goes out to where across the whole showground.“

Show Hire has been at Burghley for the last 13 years, and watched its remit grow year on year. With the cross-country course, and two arenas, the Show Hire team is now responsible for 7 km of cable runs for loudspeakers, all the telephone systems on site, and the showpiece PA installation in the main arena. “Buying our new Electro-Voice inventory gives us, and our clients, immediate improvements in sound quality and level,“ says Chubb. “However it also gives Show Hire the potential to bid for other, bigger events, so we hope it will open a few doors for us.“